Buttonhole-stitching machine.



F. A; READ.

BUTTONHOLE STITCHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-9, 19l3.-

Patented Feb. 1, I916.

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F. A READ.

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Patented Fab. 1, 1916.

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. F. A. READ. BUTTONHOLE STITCH ING MACHINE. ARPLlCATlON FILED ueJs, 1913.

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raw, km @mg zg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED A. READ, OF LYNNrMASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE REECE BUTTON HOLE MACHINE COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ACORPORATION 0F MAINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED A. READ, a citizen of the llnited States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buttonhole-Stitching Machines, of whichthe folhawingis a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to buttonhole stitching machines and more particularly to the type of machine which is known as the ieece buttonhole machine, wherein a stitch frame carrying the stitch forming mechanism on the one hand and a work clamp or support on the other hand, are relatively movable so as to enable the stitching to be carried along the sides of the buttonhole and around. its end or ends. Such stitch forming.mechanism comprises usually an eyepointed needle carrying the 'upper thread and. below and opposed thereto, the so-called complemental stitch forming mechanism or under-sewing mechanism, which carries and operates an under thread in cooperation with the needle carrying the upper thread.

Among the objects of the present invention are the improvement in the construction and operation of the under-sewing mechanism, nd rendering the same more eflicient, less complicated and more durable than. heretofore.

Another object is to improve themode of forming stitches on a machine of this type, and to afford a new tvpe ot buttonhole stitch.

Other and more specific objects will appear in the hereinafter t llo\\"ing description.

For convenience the present improvements are illustrated as applied to a design of machine generally similar to that illustratedin latcnt .\'o. 695.6359. granted March l1. 1902, upon the invention of \V. \V. Dixon.

in the accompanying drawings fori'ning a part hereof. Figure l is a partial righthand' clc\"ation of a buttonhole stitching machine oi the-character llQl'PtOlOl'O referred.

to. and embodying the present improvemcnts. Fig. 2 is a righthand view of the umlm-scuing nicchan sn'i w th the circu- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

Application filed. August 9, 1913. Serial No. 783,893.

larly shifting stock carrying the movable parts detached from the other parts in Fig. 1. Fig. is a rear elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 in left-hand elevationshows the details of the looper cam and fittings seen to the left of the throat support in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 on an enlarged scale shows details of the looper actuating connections taken on the plane 5, 5, of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the machine of Fig. '1 with certain-parts above the upper needle omitted. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the under-sewing mechanism and stock. Fig. 8 is a partial front elevation showing the relation of the needle and loopelr. at a different stage of operation from that of Fig. 6. Fi

actuating cam detached. Fig. 11 is a front view of the lever for actuating the needle carrier. Fig. 12 is a front view of thelink for actuating said lever. Fig.- 13 is an enlarged section on the plane 13. 13, of Fig. 6, showing a universal connection in the needle actuating mechanism. Fig. 14 shows a stitch and buttonhole which maybe produced by the mechanism described, the same having no visible purl or line of interlocking loops. .Fig. 15 diagrammatically shows the nature of such stitch.

' Certain parts are shown similar to, and may be as indicated in said prior Patent No. 695,039, requiring, therefore, no detailed or other description, excepting as follows: The machine includes the clamp frame 21. the casing 22 containing the needle bar 23, it carrying an eye-pointed needle 24 for manipulating the upper thread in, said needle bar and its casing being in practice mounted in the stitch frame 2:") already referred to, the curb or cam casing 26 in practice secured to the movable stitch frame so as to travel with it under the clamp frame, said casing 26 havstock 35, said stock having the circular upper end 36 adapting it to receive at suitable times a circular movement, the gear 37 fast on a sleeve 38.. extending from stock 35, the tension device 39 for the under thread and the throat plate 40; also the circular ringlike portion 41 of the casing 26, which receives within it the'circular upper end 36 of the stock 35, and depending from said ring 41 a loop 42 having formedthrough it cuitrally at its lower end an opening of such size as ,,to loosely receive hollow hub 43 of gear 37; the gear being applied to the sleeve 38'and fixed there by a suitable nut 44:.

The sleeve 38 has extended through it the actuator 45 n the form of a hollow rod, said rod receiving through the opening in its lower end the second or underneath thr ad 1 such thread being passed upwardly through the rod 45 and into the under thread carrier 32. The thread may pass out of the hollow rod 45 through an aperture at 46, passing about the tension device 3f) before passing to the under thread needle 32. The rod 45 has fixed to it below the gear 37 a ball or enlargement 47, it being as herein shown embraced between two loose cup-shaped disks 4S and 49, both loosely surrmunling the rod l5 and contacting the ball 47, said disks being borne res cctively upon the two forks 50, 51 of a lever 02 pi voted at 53. between two'depending curved hangers 54, these hangers being connected in a sil'itablenuinner as by screws 55, with the loop-shaped depending portion 42 above referred to. The lever is connected with the rod 2! as shown so that the can! operated movement of the. rod causes the oscillation of the lever 52 and thereby reciprocates upwardly and downwardly the hollow rod or bar 45. i

ln continuing the description'of the machine illustrated in the drawings hereof, reference will be made to the new parts involved in this invention,-a1nl to new arrangements and combinations of parts, during which reference will necessarily be. made to parts which 7201' R0 are n ot new herein, but are; for the first tim employed in the. novel relations and arrangements sought to be covered herein.

The oscillatory member on which the urn der mechanism is seated may take any physical form, and will betel-med a stock, as it ismercly a carriage or frame for supporting the various working parts of the under mechanism. lt .ehiits bodily, for example circularly, with all the working parts sup ported by it, and these parts themselves move as may be required for stitching more or less independently of the stocks shittin The preferred needle operation-,niay now be conveniently described in a general way. The upper needle 24 is one which penet ates the work near the margin. The under needle 3:2 is in the nature of a looper, not piercing the work, but passing from beneath to above, for ausing the upper and under threads to interlock. Herein the terms upper and under are used only relatively, and by upper needle will. be understood any penetrating needle, and by under needle any loop forming needle opposed to such upper needle. The plane of movement of the under needle may be inclined as indicated in Fig. 2, passing to one side of the vertical upper needle above the work and to the other side below the work. The needle operation is that the under needle during each ascent passes through a loop of upper thread below the work, while above the work the under needle furnishes a loop of under thread which may be entered on the descent of the upper needle. The upper and under threads are thereby interlocked both above and below the work. At each interlocking point the engaging 'bights or loops of the two threads form what may be termed a lock. In successive stitches'the locks will be in alinement forming What may be termed the lock line." l'leretofore one or both of these lock lines have been located at the edge of the work, giving the effect of a -purl.

Referring to Fig. 1, the upper thread a: is seen passing first to an upper tension 61, and thence to the eye of a lever or takeup ($2. and thence to the upper end of the hollow needle bar :23, issuingi rom the lower end of the same and engaging the tension 63, from whence the thr ad passes to the eye of needle 24.

The under thread 1 see Fig. 6, passing first upwardly through the hollow actuator 45, emerges at 46 engaging the tension 39, and passing thence to a guide 66, and thence to the. movable upper end of the takeup lever 67. thence to an eye (38 on the needle carrier 32L and finally to the lower and upper eyes of the under needle 32. Cooperating with these parts in the manipulation of the under thread, is the looper 71.

While it is possible with the machine hereo l to produce the ordinary buttonhole stitch such as that of the prior Patent No. 695,039, the novcl'stiteh a'nd bu ttonhole hereotmay also he produccdf see FigsJH and 15. Novelly is claimed at only in the machine hereof, but in the overseam or buttonhole stitching illustrated, the latter, however. being made the subject of claim in eopending application Serial No. 793.797, tiled October 7th. 1913. Partly by reason ottlicnovcl constructions illustrated and described, and partly by readjustment of the tensions and other thread manipulating parts, it is found thatthe. advantageous stitch illustrated may be prodi'lced. The characteristic feature of ,overseam comprising an upper thread penetrating the work at a series of points near themargm, thereby forming a series ot blghts located at. or even slightly within the under surface of the work, together with I an under thread 7 which is formed into a series of loops, each loop having both strands passing through one of the said bights of the upper thread, thence forming bends 72 extending around both faces and the edge of the work, and finall v.i"orming a bight of under thread which encompasses both strands of upper thread at their point of penetration of the work. Thereby the line of locks 73. 73; etc.. at the upper side of the work, and the line of locks Tl. T-t. etc.. at the under side of the work. practically coincide with the line of penetration. thus any visible purl effect practically eliminated, and a substantial, durable and attractive buttonhole is afforded. consisting apparently merely of a series of adjacent loops of under thread.

The usual work clamp above the clamp plate 21 is, of course, to be assumed. and relative movements between the 'work and the stitching mechanism may be secured inany desired manner for .the purpose of causing the line of stitches to advance along the sides. and it desired, circularly around the ends of the buttonhole. may. for example. be attained by the bodily shifting of the stitch frame 25 with which moves the entire stitching mechanism. The relative movement around the ends of the buttonhole may be effected by rotation of thc'stitch mechanism relatively to the work. Thus the stock so carrying the under sewing mechanism and the needle bar '33 carrying the upper needle may be revolved in unison. A gear H2 connected to the upperneedle bar is rotated by a toothed segment 83: likewise the gear 37 ot' the under mechanism is rotated by a segment H4. This is a usual construction. and it is sullicient to merely indicate the parts 85. 85. etc.. by which the segment S is caused to swing in unison with segment 83.

Ve come now to the details of the under mechanism. As explained. the intermittent shifting of the under mechanism is ell'ected by a segment and gear. The operations. however. of the movable parts carried on the stock 35 are all shown as ell'ected from the single up aml down moving actuator 45. connections from which extend to the looper. to the under needle and to the take-up for actuation thereof.

The lengthwise movement The connections between actuator 45, and needle carrier 33 are shown as follows A short link 87 is at its lower end connected directly to the actuator 45, and at its )per end to an intermediate portion of a bent l ever 88, which latter is pivoted at 89. The. lever is formed with an aperture at 89* s r rounding the stud which connects link 87 to actuator 45, permitting relative play between them. The lever 88 is extended upwardly to where at its upper end a ball and socket pivot 90 (see Fig. 13) affords a connection socket pivot 92 connecting it directly to the front of the needle carrier 33. Adjustment between lever 88 and link 91 is permitted by a lengthwiseslot shown at93, Fig. 11, in which engages the screw secured block 94, Fig. 13. By unscrewing, the pivot 90 can be raised or lowered, thus increasing or decreasing the throw of link 91 and the needle carrier. Obviously, the up and down move ment of the actuator -15 causes the upper end of lever 88 to swing'aboutthe pivot 89, thereby pulling and pushing link 91 in a generally lateral direction, its movements being communicated to. the needle carrier and under needle; thus there are only three moving parts between actuator and carrier.

The takeup 67 is shown as a three-armed lever having a short leftwise spring actuated arm 97. tending to hold the takeups -main arm (37 in contact'with a stud and roller 98 on the lever 88. The takeup thus oscillates with the swinging of the lever, and

without the interposition of any additional partshetween the take. and the actuator.

As usual. an adjustable stop 99 for the heel 4 100 of the takeup may be employed to regulatethe extent of the takeup movement; The looper and its actuation are likewise simplified sothat the necessary compound movement is secured with minimum parts and maximum efticiency. The looper has two motions. first a bodily to and fro swinging toward and from the under needle, and second. .a slight oscillation in a direction lateral to the to and fro swinging, resulting in a curved path. The well understood purpose of this motion irthat the looper which is barbed may advancethrough the loop carried by'the upper needle. and thence pass to and slightly around the path of the under needle. so that the looper maydeliver the loop 'to the under needle and then retract. l sually the looper has been in the form of a barbed hook s\\'l\'(l0(l t() its carrier and actuated by separate trains oPmechanism. one

is so simplified that tour moving parts between the actuator andlooper sullice. A

link 101 adjustablelengthwise by screw de' vice 102 extends from the actuator below to its connection to a bell crank lever 103 above, by a radially adjustable pivot 104, see Fig. The bell crank lever serves to convert the vertical. to a horizontal motion, which is communicated by a link 105 to a looper carriage 100. This carriage slides upon a slight incline from the horizontal, being held and guided by a fixed guide member 107 formed with overlying flanges. The sliding carriage 106 to which the link 105 is pivoted, has a trontportion 108 fined to it in an adjustable manner, so that by loosening the screws 109, 110, the position of the looper relatively to the carri. ge may be altered. The member 108, by means of a pivot 111, has the loopcr carrier 112 mounted at its upper side.

Referring to the top views, Figs. 7 and 9, it will be seen that the looper is no longer the reversely hooked or curved member already known, but is a short straight member which, when retracted, is located in a position-withdrawn from the path of the upper needle. The looper carrier 112 is shown L- shaped so as to afiordan offset between the looper and its line of movement on the one hand, and the looper carriage and its connections to the carrier on the other hand. In consequence, it is possible to entirely dissociate the needle and takeup actuating mecl'ianism which are at the front, Fig. (5. and the looper mechanism which is wholly at the rear side of the stock, see Fig. 3.

The connections, for longitudinally recip- "nocating the looper have been described. Its slight transverse reciprocation is effected about the pivot 111 by means of a self-acting device requiring no connection from the actuator. This device preferably consists of a relatively fixed (3am 114-, see Figs. 7 and 1.0. which may be generally straight. but with a deflecting portion orlug 115, which acting upon the pin orcam follower 116 causes the looper. near the end of its advance mow"- ment, to slightly swing reversely transvers l v. thus carrying the barb oi" the looper abqmt the path of the under needle. The cam 1.14-

shown as having only one active face. and consequently a spring ll? is en:- plovcd to hold the pin into contact with thecam. The spring is held ctmi 'arcssml between the carrier 112 and a small bracket ll l. which. for convei'iicncc. is held in place by screw 110. 'llhc outer end of the contact pin 1 1 (Els shown as screw threaded and en- ;i'flged by av lock nut 11-0. thus ail'orduig a device for adjusting the pin. and thereby the relation lad-ween the carrier and the cam.

-lhe.can" 1.1 is shown as a thin plate. and this is rendered longitudinally adjustable by reason. of theclongated slot 1:20 engaged by :hi securin screw 121. The lon itudiiml t h h adjustment or" thecam determines the point at which the slight transverse throw of the stock,

looper occurs, so that it can be accurately adjusted to the under needles path.

It will be noticed that, simple though the described mechanism is in the small number -of its parts, it nevertheless is extremely flexible in its capability of adjustment to meet all conditions. Thus the mechanism can be adjusted as to the time of operation of several parts, needle, takeup, looper, etc'., and as to the speed of movement, and in some cases the acceleration as well as the actual distance covered; and the loopers path of movement is enabled to be altered as described. It will thus be seen that there has been described a stitching machine. attaining the objects and advantages before recited, and'other advantages will be up parent to those skilled in the art.

Since many matters of design, arrangement. detail and other features may be indefinitely altered without departing from the novel principles disclosed. there is no intenand desired to secure by 1. In a buttonhole stitching machine the combination oi an upper needle having means for reciprocating it, and an under sewing mechanism con'iprising a shit'table stock, a movable actuator shittable with the stock, and the following carried by the stock: an under needle carrier. a swinging lever pivoted near its lower end and swung by the actuator. a link between the. levers upper end and the carrier. and a device for effecting up-and-down adjustment of the connectionbetween said link and lover to vary the needle travel.

2. In a buttonhole stitching machine the combination of an upper needle having means for reciprocating it, and an under sewing mechanism con'iprising a shiftable stock, a movable actuator shittable with the stock, and the following carried by the stock: an under needle carrier, a swinging lever pivoted near its lower end and swung by the actuator, a link between the level-s upper end and the carrier, and a device for adjusting the eilective length of the upwardly extending portion of said lever to vary the needle travel.

3. In a buttonhole stitching machine the combination of an upper nccdlo having means for reciprocating it, and an under sewing inechanism comprising a shiftable stock, amovableactuator shit'table with the and the following carried by the stock: an under-needle carrier, a swinging lever pivoted near its lower end and swim:

by the actuator, a. link between tlaalevcr s fording a pivot for a link, and said last named link, the same connecting the actuator and lever:

4. In a buttonhole stitching machine the combination of an upper needle having side moving link directly between said lever arm and said carriage.

5. In a buttonholc stitching machine the combination of an upper needle having means for reciprocating it, and an under sewing mechanism comprising a shiftable stock, a movable actuator, and the follow ing carried by the stock: an under needle carrier, connections from the actuator for reciprocating-said needle carrier, a looper andcarrier, a longitudinally sliding guidecarriage, means mounting said looper carrier on said guide-carriage to have lateral movement relatively thereto, connections from the actuator for sliding the carriage to advance and retract the looper carrier,

and 'a' device for causing displacement of the looper carrier laterally with res ect to and during carriage movement.

6. In a buttonhole'stitching machine the combination of an upper needle havingmeans for reciprocating it, and an under sewing mechanism comprising a shiftable stock, a movable actuator, and the following carried by the stock: an under needle carrier, connections from the actuator for re ciprocating said needle carrier, a looper and carrier a longitudinally sliding guidecarriage,- means mounting said looper carrier on said guide-carriage to have lateral move ment relatively thereto, connections from the actuator for sliding the carriage toad- Vance and retract the looper carrier, and a device for causing displacement of the looper carrier laterally with respect to and during carriage movement consisting of a cam andfollower device one part of which is relatively fixed on the stock, the other movable with the looper carrier, whereby the looper carricrs advance or retraction brings about its lateral tllSpliICQl'IlQllt In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRED A. READ.

Witnesses:

J. VVAnnnN N1cnoLs, THOMAS J. Curry. 

